ADVANCED MANUFACTURING
What is ‘advanced manufacturing’?
Advanced manufacturing, in a nutshell, means using new technologies, processes and practices to improve a manufacturer’s productivity and competitiveness.
At Romar, we see it as having two components:
- Manufacturing something in an advanced way (e.g. we manufacture medical products using tricky materials)
- Manufacturing products that are advanced (perhaps using new technology)
Examples of advanced manufacturing at Romar
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Additive manufacturing:
- Romar uses the Lasertec 65 3D printer and has some of the most skilled additive manufacturing engineers in Australia.
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Using advanced materials:
- The team members at Romar know their materials very very well. When designing a new product, our team will determine the best material for each component.
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The future is collaborative manufacturing:
- Romar can now take on projects that were previously impossible, thanks to our trusted global partners.
- This is necessary to survive in a competitive global manufacturing market.
Why it's important to the Australian manufacturing industry
In recent years, we have seen a historic transformation of the Australian manufacturing industry.
Mass production of identical products is no longer our niche and companies can no longer survive doing this. We now work in a global supply chain, contributing specific components according to a company’s specialised skill set.
“Prior to 2000, manufacturing generally referred solely to the production of goods. Today, manufacturing is about ideas, products, processes and services. This post-industrial global manufacturing system represents a complex and highly integrated value chain.” – Bruce Grey, former managing director, Advanced Manufacturing CRC (2009 – 2015)
In 2017, the Australian Government introduced a $100 million Advanced Manufacturing Fund. The purpose of the fund is to drive innovation in manufacturing in Australia. It aims to ensure our manufacturers continue to be competitive on the global stage.
The Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre released a report on advanced manufacturing in Australia. Some key findings include:
- Manufacturing in Australia supports 1.2 million people
- Being advanced is not about what a manufacturer makes but how
- Australian companies need to invest in value, not cost
“Some people use advanced manufacturing to mean weird materials, advanced materials. I think of it in terms of using advanced technology to make manufacturing simpler.” Dr Rodney Brooks, founder, chairman and CTO, Rethink Robotics
The future is ‘advanced’ at Romar
Romar has embraced collaborative manufacturing as the way forward.
We continue to work closely with our global partners to manufacture products that would have otherwise been impossible.
We employ some of the best engineering minds in Australia and have the latest equipment to ensure we are competing with the best in the industry.
